A bit short of his 93rd birthday, Art Steiner, aka Dry Rot, set sail for the last time. Art was Brother Number 24 of the New York Table, Captain after Rene Fiechter and is credited with holding the oldest active flag.
Art was also involved with the Power Squadron for which he wrote articles regularly, but his true love and passion was the Brotherhood of the Coast. His last public appearance was during the U.S. 60th Anniversary Zaf in New York City where he reiterated in his speech that the purpose of the Brotherhood of the Coast was most of all to have fun.
During World War II Art spent time as a radio operator on a wooden square rigger looking for submarines in the North Atlantic. As a civilian he was often seen sailing his Pearson 26 Commander "Bewitched" out of New Rochelle on Long Island Sound. He would sail to Zafs on his own and during the raft up he would serenade us with his harmonica and tell corny jokes, which we learned to love and miss.
Dry Rot was always a companion and a friend but above all a true lover of the sea.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Gold Coast Table for taking our Brother Dry Rot under their wing. We are very grateful to you all and so was he.
Orza!
Rascal
| MY MEMORIES OF ART STEINER I knew Art starting in 1984, which is when I became a Brother. He always had a sly smile on his face as if he was looking to do someting mischievous. The night I became Captain of the Table of New York, I told all assembled that I would do my very best. Art yelled out, "That's not good enough." Art, Ruth, Ina and I shared a cabin on the Chilean troop transport which took us around Cape Horn during the first Chilean World Zaff. After settling down in our meager cabin, we discovered there were no towels or soap. Art sneaked out of the cabin and within 20 minutes returned with enough towels and soap for the whole voyage. We later learned he had bribed the crew member responsible for our cabin to surrender his own allotment of towels and soap. His love of the Brotherhood was boundless. Art told me stories of the early Brothers, such as our first Captain who was lost at sea during a solo voyage. Many other stories followed. You could always count on two things when Art was at an in-water Zaff--his harmonica and an enormous amount of pickled herring, which was his contribution to the cocktail hour(s). Art used to quip that he was going to change the name of his boat to "Ruthless" because Ruth refused to go on his boat in later years. In all the years I knew him, I don't remember Art saying an unkind word about any Brother. That was Art and there will never be another! Fraternally, Charlie Fine #84, Table of New York |
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| Front row is Art, Ruth, Pei Yu Chow; back row: Andrea Torren's mother, Jane Protzman, Wen Chow and Charlie fine. Is this what you needed. Original? Art with harmonica is on Wenka, Rick Robinson boat, I think in ’90. |
On board of Wenka, Rick Robinson's boat in the '90s. |
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| Brother 24... | ||
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Arthur Steiner - Dry Rot